Forgotten, December
by aoshi02780
Summary: This is about what would of happened if Misao did do what Aoshi told her.Will she ever return or will she not?Please go easy, this is my first fanfic, summary sucks so dont listen to it
1. Chapter 1

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Forgotten, December 

By: Kelli St. Pierre...and sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin...(sad frown) but enjoy ( happy face)

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Chapter 1: Regrets and goodbye's

Thud….

Thud….

Thud….

Footsteps were heard as two dark figures were walking down the road. Well, three, but one of the figures were carrying one. Silence filled them as a low, chilling, wind came by, freezing anyone to the bone; but none showed any indication that they felt it. They continued walking down the road, each with different thoughts in there minds, as one of them had thoughts of only sorrow, and regret.

Aoshi's pov:

'Will they forgive me?' thought Aoshi.' Could they forgive a monster like me, for threatening them, and even kill Okina'. I continued to walk as these thoughts rammed my mind. By me was Sagara, carrying Battosai, since he passed out after Shishio's battle. As we walked on, I could make out figures as I could tell they were my comrades and the friends of Sagara's and Battosai's. I was suprised that one of them, was Okina, for I thought I killed him.They ran forward toward us and said their greetings to us. But wait a minute, where's Misao. She should have definitely been here, unless... she didn't make it……. Okina recognized this and said to me, holding out a letter.

"Read this Aoshi".

I opened it up and my heart just dropped from there, though my wall didn't brake. It was from Misao, saying…..goodbye…to me.

_Dear Aoshi,_

_'I hope you are alright as you are reading this. But dont worry about me, I'm fine,but I decided to travel. Not because of what you said to me, but to myself, and...to forget about you since your never coming back...'_

_Sincerely,_

_Misao_

I stood there…not moving…nor showing any emotion. I must have been so focused in my thoughts, that I didn't even realize that I was alone, and it was relatively dark. My legs, walking on there own, were walking towards the Aoyia, as I looked the same outside. However, in the inside, I had emotions that I'm all too familiar with. Regret…..lonely….but most of all…complete sadness as I had lost the one reason why I came back for.

Regular pov:

As Aoshi walked on, while inhis own thoughts,he didn't notice a figure hiding behind a tree, as a tear strolled down its face. The figure turned and walked away, slouched over as if defeated and went into the depths of the forest, as darkness consumed her before it said one more thing:

"As you wish Lord Aoshi"………

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Well thats my first chapter so far...yea yea yea I know its kinda lame and all, but It'll get better in probally in the next chapter or so. I kinda changed this (as you can see) to see what it woud of been like if Misao did do what Aoshi told her to do. Im sorrythis is short, itjust takes me awhile since my computer dosnt work good and I can only write so much in my documents...so yea that kind of explains the shortness. But please go easy on me, first fanfic hea. well I hope you all enjoy and Ill try to get chapter 2 done as quick as possible!

P.S...I THINK AOSHI IS HOT!...:)


	2. Chapter 2

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre…..I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

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Chapter 2….Similar pains'

Regular pov.

Chirp……Chirp…..

As the sun begun to woke, over the mountains, a light, chilly breeze came as the time strolled down now in December. Though in December, it has not yet snowed yet, which brought chatter to the community only except one person. This person was the kind of person who lived in only his mind. A person who was known as an icicle and a cold person. This person, of course, is the only … Aoshi Shinomori, himself.

Aoshi's pov.

The sun's beams, struck my face as I am climbing towards my little cave, known as the temple. To me, it seems like Déjà vu every single day, since I always do the same thing everyday. My schedule is pretty simple really: wake up, go to the temple, come back, eat supper, and go to bed. Though it seems pretty boring to other people, I do not mind it one bit. But what I do mind is the fact I feel empty inside.

'Why….' I thought to myself,' Why…after all these years here, doing the same thing everyday, looking for peace, why do I feel the same? Why do I still feel empty inside?'

I have asked myself presently these painful thoughts in my head and it only came to one conclusion.

Misao…

I have not seen her, nor heard her since I have gotten that dreadful letter. Yes, to be precise, it was just about 3 years ago since the letter. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss her. She was the only reason why I bothered to come back here. 'So why am I still here?' Hoping that one day she will come back here, and to me. I could not believe how much she had grown while I was away; she was practically a woman then.

'But what about now?'

'Where she is now, is she okay and alright'. These other thoughts always come into my head each day. I must of been to much into my thoughts as I am now inside the temple room. As I sat in my usual position, my thoughts came back to Misao. But thats no surprise since I always think of her. I practicly cant meditate since I always think about her. So I come here everyday, thinking about her and when she'scoming back, as of yet again, I feel the same emotions inside me...saddness...regret...and loneliness...

' Misao...please...come back to me...'

Regular pov.

Poor Aoshi though, if he weren't in his thoughts so much, he would of senced or saw someone outside the temple lookin in. But that figure vanished quickly into the forest once agian.

Misao pov.

'I cant believe it', I thought. After three years, he hasnt changed a bit. I of course, cant say the same. I have cut my hair so it comes before my waist. I have also gotten more womanly curves through out my travels.'But what have I done really'. All I have done was cause more pain to myself as I was trying to find myself. But all I could think of was him, and what he woud be doing then and now. But he could never know I was here, I could never feel that horrible feeling I felt when he told me to go.

_' I cant'..._

_' Never again...'_

No I shall not feel that again, the feeling of being abandoned. But wait, I was abonded so that would make sence. I must of been in my thoughts so much that i didnt even know that I was just standing right outside the temple looking in for so long.'Oh no...he could see me!'

I quickly ran and leaped on a tree and noticed that he didnt see me and continued to meditate. I sighed and decided that I would go and take a walk at about midnight since no one is up at that time.' Funny, it was December and it hasnt snowed yet...'With this thought in mind, I left as the darkness consumed me over, as onethought came into my mind.

' Oh Aoshi...please come back.'

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So this is my secon chapter. I know some of you are really getting stressed of when they are gonna meet but dont worry, next chapter...they meet(big happy face)! But I cant tell you how or when( sad smile). To me, this is when it gets really interesting since now there gonna meet up in the next chapter. So I hope I get more reveiws, all of you who are given reviews, thank you so much! It really gives me a lot of confidence. Well thanks and I'll try to get the next chapter as quick as possible:)


	3. Chapter 3

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre…………..and sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

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Chapter 3: 'coincidence or fate?'

Regular pov.

It was a dark, cold night as the moon beamed over the aoyia. It was accurately midnight when everybody is of course asleep. Everyone except two people that is. Misao and Aoshi of course decided to both take a walk but what both don't know is….that the other that they either fear or want, is also doing the same thing.

Aoshi pov.

It was a bit chilly than I had expected it to be. I began to put back on my old fighting uniform, since I haven't worn it since I was back at Shishio's. I have finally gotten my trench coat around me and headed out towards the town. I silently closed the door and headed out on the path. As I was walking, all too familiar thoughts came back to my head. Of course, who other than Misao to be in my thoughts. I still yet again, think about her and when she is coming back. Even I have admitted to myself that I do not care for her….

_I love her….._

Everything about her I could remember, her smiles, her laughs, and even her jokes she used to tell when of course she was little. But of course, being me, I smashed all that from her when I had to be the bastard I am and tell her those hurtful words. I never meant them at all. How could I have been so foolish? I lost her because of a foolish mistake I made. But I deserve that, for being the monster I am.

I continued with these thoughts in my head as I finally entered the town, though it looks more as a dead town now with the fog. I continued my pace and looked around to see just darkness, closed shops, and an endless fog that reaches up to just about my knee's. But the one thing that only caught my attention was the moon. I could recall when Misao was little and would ask me all sorts of questions about it:

_'Lord Aoshi, how far is tha moon? What's tha moon made of? Is it true that it's made up of cheese?'_

I would try to answer her nonstop questions until I got tired. Then she would go to hanyaa and torture him for awhile with her questions.

I let a small smile set across my face, though a stranger probably wouldn't notice it. But not the figure about 10 feet in front of me, who was just standing there. I senced someone around and stopped staring at the moon and looked straight and saw someone I didn't expect to see.

" Misao..."

Misao's pov.

( note this is her pov. when aoshi was getting ready to leave...just so there's no confusion..)

I have decided that I would take a walk, since it always calms me when I'm down. It was a bit more chily that I had expected it to be. So I put a little jacket on that I got from my travels, with along the rest of my clothing. I still decided to wear my uniform, but not the same one of course, I just made it a little bigger for I was getting to old for the other one, if you know what I mean. Everything about my clothing was the same except the jacket, whick was a dark purple. They say the western people wear these when it gets cold as well.

So Finally after getting ready, I finally headed out from my cave, that I found during my journey. As I walked, thoughts came to my head that I think about everyday, no, every second.' Aoshi...I wonder what your doing now?' I thought,' I hope your okay'. I wonder all the time if he ever thinks of me at all. Probably not, he did tell me to never see him again after all. Though in the letter I told him I left not because of what he said but to find myself, butit really was because of what he said. I also wonder how the others are doing. Jiya is probably being perverted as always, Okon and Omasu are probably always at hiko's, and Kuro and Shiro are probably trying to cook but as always, fails.

I have finally entered town and decided to look around a bit, though there wasnt really much to look. All there really was was closed shops and fog. But the one thing that caught my attention was the moon. I could always remmber how I would always ask Aoshi questions of the moon. Then whenhe didn't, then I would go and ask Hanyaa. I Let a smile it my face, since I haven't smiled for awhile.It felt good to remember the good times then the bad times, and usually having walks help me with that.

I decided to leave since I was out here for about an hour or so and by the time I got back, it would be extremely late. So as I stopped looking at the moon and looked straight ahead, all my blood felt cold and all my thoughts were dead. Him, the one thing I had been trying to forget, was right there. Aoshi Shinomori was right there. Just thinking the name makes my skin crawl. He seemed to be also looking up at the moonand was lost in his thoughts. I thought maybe he wouldn't see me if I snuck away, but that thought was also dead as he must of senced someone and looked straight at me.

We both just stood there, believing that this was nothappening. I saw in his eyes, a flicker of longing and surprise. But if I didn't know better, I could have sworn I saw a ficker of love in there as well. Must be my eyes playing tricks on me.

" Misao"

I was snapped out of my thoughts as he had said my name, with that same cold voice, though a little warmer. All I could do was stand there and see what was to come...as he took a step forward and repeated my name again.

" Misao"

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Well, thats my third chapter, I think its really going to get interesting now, especially in the next chapter. And as the mean person I am, I decided to put a little ciffhanger in here as well, as I know you guys are very frustrated of this( evil smile). I'll try and hurry up so you guys wont murder me, okie dokie. well c ya!

Oh yea and thank you all for thereviews!


	4. Chapter 4

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre……………sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

Chapter 4: "The new woman, the new problem"

Misao's pov.

'_No_'!

'No, I shall not face him again', Misao said to herself,' I shall not face the pain again'. Then she ran from there as quick as she could, straight threw the forest. She knew though she wasn't alone, as she could also hearing footsteps closing in on her. She knew her chances of beating Aoshi were like one of a thousand, but she wasn't going down without a fight.

'I need to shake him off….' So she jumped to a high branch and continued to jump branch for branch. Jumped down off of a tree to look back since she heard no footsteps.' Did I lose him? No way, there's no way I shook him off that easily, so then where is he?' She looked around and saw nothing but darkness and trees. Misao carefully took each step just like a deer out in the wild, checking to see if any prey is near. She continued to walk quietly deeper into the depths of the forest, with no sign of Aoshi anywhere. But then, a twig snapped just about five feet away from her, and Misao zoomed out of there as fast as a bullet. She raced threw the bushes and tree's, cutting herself as light scratches were visible on her arms and legs. But they soon turned red and Misao paid no attention as she sped up her pace. By now she was probably a good 200 feet from Kyoto and was still running, with a visitor as well. But then Misao saw her opportunity of winning as she saw a lake nearby. She was almost 100 percent accurate that if she could make to the lake, then she would surely lose him. So she raced on, becoming very tired but continued as she was about fifteen feet away from the lake. But all of her hopes were smashed as she felt arms circle around her, pinning her arms against her waist. She knew then the race was over, and he had won.

They both were panting pretty hard as they were running, at full speed, for about a fifteen minutes. " Misao", Aoshi calmly said, after regaining his breath," You have come back". By now Aoshi had let go of her, but still was very close so she wouldn't try anything.

" Yes, so it seems", Misao replied harshly, after regaining her breath, " and it seems you haven't changed a bit".

"Same can be said of you"

" Well sorry to break it to you, but I have changed...Aoshi". Misao could tell thatAoshi was completely stunned to hear her say his name. Misao turned away and then started walking away from him until she heard him whisper...

" I missed you, Misao". She then stopped and froze where she was.'What did he just say?', Misao thought to herself,' Theres no way he could have missed me unless...he has feeling for me...'. As Misao turned around, she had a singe tear run down her face, as her face looked completely shocked. Aoshi came up to her and gently wiped the tear away and then put his hands on her shoulders.

" Misao please come back, everyone including me is missing you", Aoshi said in his same voice, but a little softer.

" I-Iw-wish I c-could", Misao said, as she was still in shock,"But, t-there's something you should know".

" What is it?"

"I'm...being chased after..", Misao replied brokenly, as she grabbed Aoshi's shirt and cried into it. Aoshi just stood there for a second, processing the information to his brain that he just recieved. Then, very slowly, lifted his arms around Misao as she cried her heart out. This lasted for a while until Misao broke away and tried to wipe her tears away. When she wiped away her tears, though her eyes were still red, she noticed Aoshi's hand infront of her, silently asking to take his hand. She accepted his hand and they started to walk back to the aoyia.

"So, do you know who is after you?", Aoshi asked suddenly. Misao looked over to him and replied:

" Yes", Misao said" His name is Cole and he was actually from the western area( America ) before he came to Japan".

" And why is he after you"

" Well, it all started when I just turned eighteen and I was in Tokyo at the time. I was out one night and so I went to a club to chil and hang out. I had a couple of drinks, but not enough to make me drunk or pass out or anything. It was getting late and just when I decided to leave, the man named Cole came up and asked if he coud sit next to me, and of course I said fine. We started talking about ourselves and I found out that he's 28 and works for the police. I finally decided to leave and he offered to take me home, so we both left. During our walk we talked little but not much, but as I close to my apartment, he grabbed me and shoved me against an ally wall. He pinned to the wall and said that I was his and that no one could ever touch me and all. Then thats when he started touching me in places and kissing me, so I was able to kick him in the stomach and then ran. After that I left Tokyo and decided to come here, where I thought I was safe, until I saw him again, but luckly he didnt see me so I ran and left to the woods. Thats when I decided to hang out here for awhile. I haven't heard or seen him since. But Im pretty sure he's still looking for me"

Aoshi just kept on walking, while his hand,the one that was holding her hand, clenched a little and his eyes narrowed. It seemed as though he wasn't going to say anything else until...

" What does he look like"

"Well," Misao replied,"he has dark brown hair, hazel eyes, he's probably as tall as the end of your throat, and thats pretty much it".

All Aoshi did was nodd his head as they could see the aoyia now and approached the gates. Misao all the while was thinking about the others and what they would say to her.' Well, Okon and Omasu will probably hug me as always,'Misao thought,'Shiro and Kuro will probably give me a high five,and Jiya...well he'll probably scream...'Did you miss your sexy grandfather'..and hug me till I turn blue'.

As soon enough, as Aoshi opened the door, Omasu and Okon hug her, Shiro and Kuro gave her a high five, and Jiya came and screamed at the top of his lungs...

" MISAO!"

He gave her one of his bone-crushing hungs as Misao turned blue.' Hmm...maybe hewouldn'tsay it?'..Misao thought.

" OH MISAO, DID YOU MISS YOUR SEXY GRANDFATHER!"

'Orrrr...maybe not'

But what none of them all saw, was that a figure with dark brown hair, hid behind a bush with a smile.

" ahhh, well, I finally found you my Misao..."

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Well thats chapter 4, and I think it's pretty good. I know some things may not be right, like for tha apartment thing, I didnt know what they called them, or if they had them, but oh well. I also wasn't sure about clubs either, but again...oh well. And of course, there was no way I was gonna end it there, so I had to add a problem to the story, which I thought was good.Now the problem is, will Cole get Misao...or does Aoshi have sumthin to say...find out!


	5. Chapter 5

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre…………sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

Chapter 5 "Old Memories"

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Misao's pov.

The moon shone brightly, as a chilly breeze ran threw the air. It was currently one o'clock as Misao lay there, staring up at the ceiling, recalling memories of when she was just a child here. So care free she was, so innocent……Where has that child gone now? Will she ever come back?

" No", Misao spoke to herself, "She'll never be coming back", She felt strange coming back here at first when everyone hugged her, since its been awhile since she's seen them. But after that they celebrated with some sake, and as you all know…..when they have some sake…..it gets pretty wild. Jiya, of course, was as usual singing and dancing, while jugging a bottle of sake. Okon and Omasu were giggling and singing, as the same for Shiro and Kuro, except they were louder and drunk. The girls were the first to collapse at about eleven o'clock, then Shiro and Kuro came right after at eleven thirty. And Jiya was the last who stayed up and kept singing ', Oh My Pretty Misao is Back', ( though he said it louder) and then collapsed at about twelve o 'clock. It was no surprise that Jiya was the last, he was only the perverted old man he was.

' That old coot', Misao thought,' Henever changed a bit'. It also wasn't a surprise that Aoshi didn't drink any sake either, since he had……well….an accident at one time. It was a priceless memory really, it was awhile back when Aoshi was 16 and he tried sake for the first time. It took, though, awhile for Okina to convince him to drink it as Aoshi declined each time. But he accepted in the end and after about two cups of sake, he was totally out. But for us, we saw what he couldn't remember. Aoshi, the Aoshi Shinomori, went on top of the roof and started singing, or slurping, all kinds of songs. But that wasn't the big issue was, the big issue was that he was in the nude and was practically dancing. The others of course were laughing their heads off, as I was just staring at him stupidly as I was only six at the time.

'Good memories', Misao thought. Actually, as a mater of fact, it just dawned on Misao that Aoshi wasn't at the party at all, he went to his room the whole night, without even saying anything to any of us, or to me for that matter. Of course I can see he doesn't like parties or sake, since I didn't have any either, But he could have at least said good night, well to me anyways since I was the only one not drunk.

' The nerve of him', Misao thought angrily,' He just leaves like that, without saying anything to me, what happened to that ," I missed you Misao" crap. Maybe I was a fool, maybe he just said that to get me back to the Aoyia, or worse, maybe even Jiya told him to do it!' She angrily punched her pillow as sleep wouldn't be coming any time soon. How she wished everything could be alright, that everything was okay. She wished she could sleep forever, since she could dream of Aoshi being something he's not. But harsh reality slaps her in the face every morning she got up on her travels.

'And I still haven't told them about Cole'. This was another thought that was on her mind, is he here, and if he is, will he go after her. She couldn't see him again….never…..not after what he's done to her….something that she hasn't even told Aoshi about…

_He raped her….._

She still shudders at the memory of him. She told Aoshi she got away, but the truth was she didn't. He had taken her to his apartment and got his way with her. She hadn't told Aoshi this cause she thinks Aoshi would have been disgusted with her or worse, abandon her. Luckily she didn't get pregnant or else that would have been ten times as worse.

' Oh what am I going to do'

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Aoshi's pov.

Aoshi was also in the same position as Misao was, laying on the futon, staring up at the ceiling. He left to his room so quickly so he could be with his thoughts, though Misao might take it wrongly, he decided he would apologize for it later. His thoughts were just what Misao told him about this man named Cole. Something didn't make sense to him.

'Why is he after Misao', Aoshi thought,' for only kissing and touching. Any other man would not go threw the trouble of having a woman if it was just that'. Even though that was all he was to believe, Aoshi was still mad , no, furious that some scumbag touched Misao.

' How dare he touch my Misao, he could of untainted her, or worse killed her, without me ever knowing! He would have been dead before sunrise if I was there! Even now he probably would have been dead, if only I could find him.'

Aoshi rolled over and finally, after a while, fell asleep before thinking…..

'But make no mistake……if anyone, like Cole, were to touch my Misao….they would pay dearly to me……'

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Cole's pov.

Cole was in Kyoto and saw Misao go into the Aoyia just a few hours ago.He arranged some of his buddies to meet him in a shack that he found in the woods so they can dicuss things. When all of his buddies have arrived, he started making plans...

"Alright everyone", Cole commaned deeply," as you all know, Ms. Makimachi has arrived back at the Aoyia, and I plan to make her mine no matter what it takes. I have already devised a plan, tomorrow night we attack the Aoyia, and kidnapped Misao. I am counting on you all to accomplish this, if you fail me...it will be your heads. Understood."

They all nodded, but one raised a hand and asked a question, who was pretty big with black greasy hair, "But Leader, what is it you want with her?" The others, all nodded and wanted to know. Actually, the other people were really just three other guys. Two of them looked a lot alike, except on was short and one was tall and both had spikey blac hair, and the other was big and muscular and only had blonde hair.

Cole was quiet, thinking of his anwser, and quietly said...

" Why...I just want her, I want Misao Makimachi"

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Well, thats chapter 5, sorry it took awhile, its just that I was trying think of what to happen I decided just for the characters to think of their thought the whole night. I know its lame but dont worry, next chapter should be good. Oh and if your confused about the guys in the room, there were five guys in the room, including Cole. So yea...well I hope you enjoyed it...please review...and thank you who are reviewing!


	6. Chapter 6

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre………………and sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin…

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Misao's pov.

Sunlight awoke her from her dreams as it blasted threw her eyes. She sat up on the futon and started rubbing her eyes as she recalled where she was and why. At first she wondered where she was, but then she remembered the crazy party last night that, of course, Jiya decided to do. She could from a distance, outside the window, that a couple of birds were singing away while flying high in the sky.

'_Why couldn't life be like that'_, Misao thought, 'just_ to fly away from all the problems, from reality….'_

By now she was already up on her feet and started putting on her clothes back on. She could remember the others talking about how she looked so different, well…by others…basically Omasu and Okon really. And of course, Aoshi never said anything about her appearance at all, but she was expecting that. Once she got all her clothes on, she slid open her door and walked down the hall to see if anyone was up. By the looks of it, it was probably about nine o'clock or nine thirty.

'_Wow, I must have over slept; usually I wake up at six'. _It was true; she usually got up at six every morning and went to bed at eight every night. For this to happen, she must have been A). Very tired, or B). She must have felt like home.

'_Hmmm….I think I'll go with B…' _As she went to the kitchen, she saw that everyone was in there, even Aoshi which surprised her very much. And of course everyone said there good mornings:

"Gooood morning Misao, were making breakfast!" Shiro and Kuro said together.

"Good morning Misao, and WERE the ones making breakfast here!" Omasu and Okon said together.

"GOOD MORNING MY PRETTY MISAO, WHERE YOU DREAMING OF YOUR SEXY GRANDFATHER!" Okina yelled. And of course, Misao threw a hidden kunai at him. He dodged it, but it sliced some of his hair.

"HEY WHAT WAS THAT FOR!"

"For being a pervert!"

"Oh come now Misao, who could not dream of me!"

While she and Okina were yelling at each other, the others, except Aoshi, moved their heads toward the one talking each time, while placing bets of who was going to win.

"I bet you a week of dishes that Misao will win" Omasu whispered.

"Your on, I bet you a week of dishes that Okina will win" Shiro whispered back.

"Oh trust me Jiya; I don't think anyone would want to dream of a fifty-five year old pervert in their dreams!" Misao yelled.

Okina stood quiet for a moment; it looked as though Misao won….until….

"Well, Misao I'm sure your right about you not dreaming about me….since your to busy dreaming about Aoshi".

The others didn't know whether Misao was red from embarrassment or from anger, but they knew either one was no good for Okina. And that was why Okina dashed for the door before he was doomed. But he was to slow as Misao threw all her hidden kunai at him (which he dodged) and pounced on him. She pulverized him to a pulp after about five minutes of fighting. Okina just laid there swirly eyed for awhile.

"Yep, things here are back to normal I would say, wouldn't you agree Okon" Omasu said cheerfully,

"Yes I would Omsau" Okon started," And it looks as though we have a week off". Okon made a wink to both Shiro and Kuro, knowing they lost the bet and had to do they dishes for the week. They stomped off angrily and went to work while Okina still laid there. Yep things are sure going to get interesting.

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It was in the afternoon as Misao, Okon, and Omsau decided to go what the called it 'Girl shopping', as the boys stayed at the Aoyia and worked. Of course Misao didn't want to come along; she was dragged along with Okon and Omasu's torture of cloth shopping. Though when Misao though about it, she actually didn't think this was that bad cause she could now talk and hang out with Omasu and Okon like she used to.

By the fourth shop, Misao just had enough of it, but of course she knew it wasn't going to be over in a long time. Luckily Okon and Omasu didn't but all that much, they bought a couple of pair's of kimonos for themselves and for her and that's it. From her experience, she could remember the times when they took her for cloth shopping, by the end of the day she looked like a laundry basket monster.

As they continued walking along, Misao spotted yukata's (for men) to her right. She walked over and looked at some, they were pretty expensive for most of them but they were nice. But one of them caught her attention; it was a dark blue one with a purple style dragon on the back. She Aoshi would look good in it, so she decided to get it. She just about paid all of the money she had saved up during her travels to but it, but it was worth it and she knew aoshi would like it. As she walked out, she saw a group of kids playing in the street. She could remember how she used to play that with Hanyaa all the time, she could probably keep the ball up for about five minutes before she and Hanyaa got tired. She saw one of the kids playing good; it reminded of her a lot. She continued along to find Okon and Omasu as she looked up at the sky. It was early December and still no snow, that was very weird and she heard lots of people talking about this during her travels.

Suddenly something flashed to the right of her eye and she looked there but saw nothing. She continued to walk along the streets, but she had the feeling she was being followed. She sped up her pace while she looked to see who was following her. That was then her heart stopped, anything she was thinking in her head disappeared from her mind, as she saw none other than Cole straight ahead of her. A good twelve feet separated them and they didn't brake eye contact, even with the people walking by. Something tapped her shoulder and she gasped and jumped to see Okon and Omasu behind her.

"Are you alright Misao, you look like you've seen a ghost" Okon commented.

"…Yea…yea I'm okay" Misao said shakily. Okon and Omsau didn't buy it one bit, but nodded their heads and decided to head back since it was about four o'clock already. Misao made one move to look back, but didn't see him there anymore and decided to keep on going as Okon and Omasu were right………….

"_The ghost, my ghost, which has been haunting me, has come back….."_

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Well, this was it. This chapter was basically to let Misao know that Cole is definitely here. But of course a good chapter cant be good if you don't have any details and all so yea. This chapter took me awhile cause I was grounded for a week off the computer so yea…expect that a lot..lol….but anyways, Im still thinking on what the next chapter should be, I got the end of the story pretty done, its just how to get there is what im working on, but it'll be good. And I know we didnt hear alot about Aoshi, but then again, I basically really wanted this tobe more of a Misao story than an Aoshi story,butdontworry, you will hear from him later.C ya till then and thank ya for all tha reviews!


	7. Author's Note!

Author's Note:

I'm hea to tell you that it may take awhile for my next chappie to come. But don't worry, I'll get it done as soon as possible. Just till then, give me reviews and stay put. Also……I have thought of another story I might do in the future after this one…so…psss…this is a secret ………….o well who cares, anyways like I was saying, keep on reviewing and I'll try to hurry as soon as I can. Thanx! 


	8. Chapter 8

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre…………………sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

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Aoshi pov.

As he sat there in the temple, a breeze went by. He had been there ever since he got up at six o'clock, since it was his morning schedual. But the difference this morning than other mornings, is that instead of Omasu or Okon giving him his tea…..it was Shiro who came. Aoshi had been puzzled by this cause even if Omasu and Okon came up, he was still expecting a particular weasel he knew very well.

'_Misao….'_

He had been thinking about her all morning and afternoon.Speaking of which, he looked out and noticed it was four o'clock already. To him, time just flew by right past him without even knowing it. Though everytime he thinks of Misao, he could get lost in his head forever. But not in this occasion cause he was worried where she was. He knew she couldn't be at Aoyia since she would of came to see him most definently. So she was either A). Started working at the restaurant again B). She went out for awhile C). She left again….

He most definetly hoped it wasn't the last one, he couldn't bear to be all alone again. Cause no matter what he tries to tell himself, he knows deep in his heart that with her around he feels better and more open. Also, he knows that he loves her.

'_Loves her….'_

If only it could be that simple, for a man, no monster, like him to actually love Misao…..and for her to love him back. It is obvious that she loves him, no doubt about that. But can he love her? Can he let his tainted self love her.

'No', Aoshi thought, 'I will only taint her, she deserves more…..'

But he couldn't help but worry over her, so he got up and left. He walked down the steps of the temple with ease as he looked up at the sky. He noticed that it hasn't snowed yet and its in mid-December. He could remember Misao always playing the snow with hannyaa and the others. She would always win not just because they'd let her, but because she was actually a good snow ball fighter. That was what he always admired about her, her toughnest, her spirit.

After the last step, he continued to walk the path back to the Aoyia. It was rather quiet out now than he expected. He looked deep into the woods and saw fox's looking for some food. It appeared they've lost their mother or father and are looking for them. They wandered deeper into the woods until they were no longer visible in sight.

Ahead of him he could see the Aoyia in view with along three other figures. He identified the two of them as Omasu and Okon by all the clothes on their backs. The other one he soon recognized as Misao. Joy leaped into his heart at that, knowing she was safe and sound. But he knew she must have suffered Okon and Omasu's cloth shoping torture. But he was more afraid if this Cole guy Misao was talking about did something to her while she went out.

'If he ever has the balls to touch my Misao, I will surely kill him'

He was to much in his thoughts that he didn't notice Misao calling him. He looked up to see her running to him. She had something with her in her hands which made him curious. When she got to him, she started to say……

"Lord Aoshi", Misao started nervously," I….. got.. you something today"

He saw that Omasu and Okon were nowhere in sight as she handed him a bag. He took it from her gently and started to open it. As he was opening it, he stole a couple of glances back at Misao who was chewing her finger nail; which he found cute.

He when he finished opening it, he pulled out a beautiful yakuta that was a dark blue. He knew this must of cost a lot of money from Misao and said very politely….

"Thank you Misao, it's very lovely….but why did you get it for me?"

"I…thought….it would be a nice gift….for me being away for so long…"

"Ah"

Misao, looking a little disappointed, started to turn around as his arms flew around to capture her in his embrace. She was totally shocked and slowly wrapped her arms around him as well. As for Aoshi, he didn't' know why he was doing this. Something inside him told him to hug her. And he did. I twas the same voice inside him that he runs away from.

' _Perhaps I have been running away from my salvation…..the whole time…'_

He let go of Misao and lightly, kissed her cheek and turned away toward the Aoyia. He knew Misao would be just right shocked and he actually liked that. But not as much as he liked the kiss, thought it was on her cheek. If it was only on her lips……

He quickly moved forward towards the Aoyia as Misao was still way behind. As he got inside, he didn't that he was still carrying the bag. He went to throw it away when he noticed a note was in it. He opened it and a note was written in it. It said:

_This is a reminder to you that you'll always have someone to come to when your down. All you need to do is look over your shoulder…...and I'll be there…._

Aoshi kept the note as he put the bag in the trash. He quickly went to his room and slowly, let a small smile set on his face. He knew now what his salvation was now and the whole time, he's been running away from it. Ever since he was eighteen and left….til now. He has been running away from it……from her.

'_My salvation….is now clear to see…….it is you…..Misao-mine'_

Misao's pov.

She couldn't believe it, he actually kissed her. Aoshi Shinomori, leader of the Oniwabann Group just kissed her. After Misao was out of her shock, she did a little dance outside while screaming her lungs out. The others looked out the window to see Misao twirling and shook their heads as they went back to work. Misao sooner or later fell to the ground as the sun set down over the mountains, making nighttime come more clear. Misao laid there pondering over and over again what Aoshi did.

'_He must like me',_ She thought to herself,_' or….he must love me..'_

Misao then got up and decided to head back to the Aoyia since it was getting cold and all. She started walking and noticed that the stars started coming out, and it was really dark now that the moon was out. She could recall how she would always look up at the stars and ask Hanyaa questions of them.

But Misao was way to much in her thoughts that she didn't even sense the figure approach behind her. The figure quickly knocked her out a bat as she fell to the ground. Since it was dark out, the figure was to dark to identify. The figure picked up Misao and carried her over it's back like a sack of potatoes and sweetly said….

"Ah…finally I have you Misao-mine".

And then it vanished towards the woods to disappear in its darkness. The only thing left behind was a part of Misao's ribbon on her uniform as the night rolls on…..

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Yea well that's chapter 8 and yea, Misao gets kidnapped, dun dun dun. And of course you pretty much all know by who, if you don't…then….I feel bad for you. And your probably wonderin, why Aoshi and Cole haven't met with each other yet. Well, that's because I made Cole the sneaky type like character and so he wouldn't want to mess with Aoshi cause he knows he'll lose. But anyways, the question is, what is plans with Misao and what will Aoshi do to save her?

Find out in the next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre…………………..sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

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Misao's pov.

She felt a throbbing pain in her head as she slowly opened her eyes. She observed where she was which looked like a bedroom basically, a nice one in fact. She was accurately on a queen size bed which could fit five of her, but on with the room. Its walls were painted a yellowish gold color with red drapes for the windows. There was a desk in the room along with and ink brush and a bottle of ink.

'_Bingo, _She thought,'_ that's exactly what I need tell the others where I am. All I have to do is call Raven over here.'_

Raven was a bird Misao found during her travels that she come to love. She hasn't seen it in a while due to her being at the Aoyia, since it doesn't like people that much. Actually, Raven really didn't trust her at first, but did later on since Misao helped her with her injury she received in the leg.

Misao was about to go to the desk when she realized her arms were chained to the wall.

'_Though this isn't what I needed, great.'_

Misao was pretty sure Cole was the reason for this, since she just saw him not to long ago. Speaking of time, what time was it now? Surely the others would know of her disappearance by now. And what was it Cole to do with her, sure she knew that he wants her…but why? It is for love, or for lust. She sure hoped it wasn't her second thought, even though the first though wasn't to appealing either. She looked out the window (which didn't have the drape over it) and saw that it was still dark out so she couldn't have been out for long since it was dark out when she got captured.

Just as Misao was going to think of an escape plan, she saw door open and saw someone who was not Cole walk in. It was a guy who looked at least twenty-five and was pretty huge, also this guy had blonde hair which she hasn't seen many guys have. He looked surprised to see her awake and then came over to her and spoke….

"It is time for diner", the man said, who had a deep voice.

"Diner ? You guys are gonna actually let me eat? Besides isn't it late out?" Misao said surprised.

"Of course, we do want the bride to be healthy don't we, and for the time no it's not late…it's only eight-thirty.

"WHAT! Unless I'm Lord Aoshi's bride, then I'm 100 percent saying no".

"You have no choice in this matter and you are not to say his name."

"Who's name?"

"Aoshi Shinomori"

"And why the hell not". Seriously, this guy was really annoying her.

"Lord Cole's orders".

"Well sorry to disappoint you and _Lord Cole_, but I'll say my _true love's_ name anytime I want so fuck you".

"Whatever you choose, it will e only harder on you, but for now it's diner so get up".

"Gee that would be a fascinated idea if I could," Misao replied sarcastically since she was chained to the wall. The man finally understood what she meant and walked over.

'_There you go stupid',_ Misao thought. Misao gasped as she heard a bang at each side of her head. It appeared this man broke, no, destroyed the chains just by punching them. But the scary thing was, she never even saw the guys punches even come close to her face. It seems these guys are talented after all, and Aoshi doesn't have any warning.

Misao was banished from her thoughts as she was yanked off of the bed, and pushed out the door were she entered a big hallway. The man softy held her hand as he guided her to were they were going. It just dawned on Misao that she wasn't wearing her ninja outfit but a white dress that went to her ankles. That meant that someone must of dressed while she was unconscious.

"If you're wondering who dressed you it wasn't a guy," the man started," It was a maid, so don't worry."

"Oh , okay," Misao said. She actually just realized now that they weren't really bad people, well not this guy anyway. This man could have made it worse for her but instead treated her nicely, in a way. She looked up at him and saw that he had dark brown eyes, but they were some what soft in them.

"Thank you, for being nice to me…I appreciate it," Misao said slowly.

"There are 'thank you's' necessary," the man said," Being considerate is not something to be thanked but to have no matter what."

"You aren't as mean as you look, are you?"

"No, whether I agree with my Lord Cole's decision or not, I do it only cause it's a friend's favor. And yes, people do judge me from what I look from the outside but from the inside, as you put it, I am not evil…like other men are."

"You remind me…of a friend I used to know….he would carry all of 'his' orders no matter if he agreed to it or not. It was mainly loyalty why he always carried out 'his' orders. And as the same as you, he had a very bad face, which I never have seen, and always wore a mask to cover his face…..but he was always a gentle person in the inside….if only he were he now….."

The man looked at her with even softer eyes probably cause she basically explained him. But it was true, him and Hannyaa were alike in many ways. They went down a staircase that was pretty long, she just noticed that the man was wearing gray jeans from the western part of the world and a black muscle shirt that was also from the western world. It appeared this guy was from the western world, or just like western clothing.

"Well even though you probably know who I am, my name is Misao," She said politely and reached her hand out when they were off the last step. He stood there for a moment, looking at her and as though it would bite him or something. Just as she was going to pull back, he slowly reached out and shook his hand with hers.

"Hello Misao, my name is Raff, though the people here call me Jet."

He then let go and she just realized that the main doors to escaping were right there and she escaped. But of course she wouldn't go to far since this guy would easily catch up to her, so she ditched the idea. Besides she knew Aoshi could kill any of these guys, though she would feel bad if he did kill the man who was now Raff, since he's not like the others. He's actually, should she say it, a brother to her. It was amazing to her how she could think that after meeting the guy for less than a half an hour.

"I'm sorry about before with the holding your hand thing, it's just I…never had a friend before so."

That disturbed her from her thoughts as she saw him looking the other way. In fact, she didn't even know she was walking along the hallway since she was lost in her thoughts. She could smell food so she knew the dining room shouldn't be to far. In fact, by the looks of it, they were here since he stopped at two big doors. She saw him go to the other door just across from the door she was to go in, but she didn't want him to go since she wanted to ask him a question. And so she yelled……

"Raff"!

"Ah".

"When you told me that you would do anything Cole tells you to do whether you like it or not, do you agree with this…want he's doing now".

It seemed as though he wasn't going to answer since he turned around and opened the door to which looked liked his room, but then he said softly….

"No…."

He then softly shut the door behind him as he let Misao be. She was wandering why he would just let her out on her own, since she just escape now. Unless there were guards waiting out there or maybe….

'_Trust…'_

Could she really brake that trust between them and risk her losing the _only _friend she has here with a fifty-fifty chance of escaping. She decided against it and a thought ran threw her mind.

"_It's just I…never had a friend before so."_

With that thought in mind, she opened the doors, to see what will await her next……

Aoshi's pov.

He was angry, no, _enraged_ of this current situation. A letter was sent to the Aoyia just an hour and a half ago saying……

_Dear residents at the Aoyia,_

_You probably have been wondering were your precious ninja is. Well I'm sorry to inform you, but she now belongs to me, Lord Cole, so it is best you accept the inevitable. We are sorry for your loss._

_Sincerely,_

_Lord, Cole Takshi_

Just hearing the name wanted him to rip him to pieces, but to say what he said….he just won a trip to hell. When he first heard about this, he quickly fled to his room and that's were we are now. He would go most definitely now if he could, but the problem was none of us knew where this Cole guy lives. Also he knew that Okina would not allow him to go at such an hour, though it was only eight-thirty. Suddenly, he heard Okina call him from downstairs and Aoshi went downstairs, rather quicker than intended. He saw everybody down there as well and wondered what was new. He saw Okina holding a piece of paper in his hand which he was inching to grab, but didn't.

"Aoshi we have been just informed by our spies that Misao is in a mansion, not to far from here." Okina started," If we were to wake up early morning and to go there, we should make it there probably at least two hours."

"We," Aoshi questioned.

"Yes of course, why you ask?".

"It will be I who will go alone Okina, I can get there faster and quicker-"

"Which is precisely what they will be expecting", Okina interrupted," They know you more than you think since I'm guessing they must of looked you up. I'm almost positive that Cole will send his forces out all night to make sure no one comes in."

"And what do you plan to do," Aoshi spat icily.

"Like we said before, were all going. We all know how you feel about her Aoshi, whether you care to admit it or not, but she is also important to us…my granddaughter I might add. And if you think Okina, spy of the Oniwabann group, will just stand here and let villains take my granddaughter away from me, then you are more of a fool than I thought you were!", Okina said icily right back at Aoshi, while looking at him dead straight in the eye.

"Alright, but why will this work may I ask", Aoshi said quietly since he knew that the look Okina gave him, it meant that he wasn't going to win and that he was dead serious.

"I am most certainly sure this will work," Okina started," and why you may ask, its very simple Aoshi. Cole may think he's all good with the money, just like Kanryuu may I might add. But when it comes to intelligence, Cole or even Kanryuu in that matter; do not even come close to my intelligence as they might think. We will attack each side of the house in pairs, they will not expect this coming since they will have all there top men in front of the house. Trust me Aoshi, they will not expect a full force, and especially not in the morning."

Aoshi couldn't say anything but nod. He had never seen Okina this serious, this intelligent since way back during the wars. And whether or not he admitted it to himself, he knew that Okina was right; they would never expect that and this was why Okina was a spy for the Oniwabann group.

"Alright now that have that settled, I think it's best if we depart to our beds now…since we'll need our strength for tomorrow." Okina declared, as the others nodded there heads and left quietly. Aoshi to nodded and left quietly to his room. When he got their he quickly but yet, smoothly took of his yukata and put on instead of his sleeping yukata….his old uniform. He hadn't worn it since the Shishio incident and wasn't planning to. He laid there on his futon as he slowly closed his eyes and one thought went into his mind…

'_Hold on Misao-mine, I'm coming….and when I do..they'll all wish they never touched you…..'_

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Well, that's chapter 9. That really took a lot out of me cause I was writing like non stop lol. But anyways as you can see, I made Misao have a friend here cause I thought it would give the story some more interest if I did. Also, I wanted my story to involve the other Oniwabbann members in rescuing Misao as well…cause that's part of her family to and I think they'd do anything to get Misao back. So now to me, the big question is, will Okina's plan work? And will Raff change his ways and help Misao? Find out in the next chappie!


	10. Chapter 10

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre……………………..sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

Misao's pov.

As she opened the doors, a burst of light hit her face as she had to squint to see where she was. It was hard to see since the hallways were pretty dark and this room was like a light bulb. But she quickly got used to the light in the room and noticed, as she shut the big doors, that there was big table in the middle of the huge dining room. The room was decorated the same way as her bedroom was, except of course there was a table and no bed but you get the drift. She could see Cole looking, no, staring at her intensively which she obviously didn't like. She sat down the opposite side of him, so she can be as far away as him as possible. It appeared that there were just two other men in the room, who were also eating diner by the looks of it since they were seated also. The two men looked exactly like twin, except one was short and one was tall. They both had spiky back hair (Kind of like Beshimi's, but more spiky and blacker) and both had eyes like a cat, which creep her out a little since they were staring at her as well with them.

Suddenly the door came open and Raff came in, which she was glad to see so she wasn't stuck with these maniacs. He came in and sat down to the right of Cole. So basically Cole was right in the center of his buddies as Raff was on Cole's right, and the two other weirdoes's were to the left of Cole. This basically left her all by herself down the other end, since there were four chairs on each side of the table, and one on each end which she and Cole occupied. Cole cleared his throat and announced….

"Everyone", He started," If you all don't know, this young lady here is Misao Makimachi. It would be an honor to me, if you would all greet yourselves in front of her."

The shorter man stood up from his chair and faced me. He said…

"Welcome Misao", He said, his voice high pitched," My name is Rack". He then bowed and took his seat. The taller man stood up and faced me. He also said….

"Welcome Misao", He said, his voice also high pitched," My name is Pack". He two then sat down. Raff then stood from his position and faced me. He too, also said…..

"Welcome Misao," Raff said, his voice deep as before," My name is Jet". He then too, sat down. But that surprised her that he didn't say his name, but his name around here. Obviously he must have been told that his real name must not be spoken, or something like that. A maid came in who looked like in her late thirty's and served us our food. She had to admit the food looked great , usually when your enemy captures you they give you yucky stuff. But this stuff is actually like if she was a queen or something. It appeared this food was from the western part of the world also since she hasn't seen this before. They maid also handed out some weird silver ware that she didn't know about either, but the drinks she knew about since it was just water. Then made then left through the door she came out of, which was the door Misao came from as well.

"Alright", Cole announced," Tonight for dinner it seems is ham, and Misao, my dear, if you don't know what ham is...its just pig".

"Oh well thank you so much, _my dear_," Misao said the last part sarcastically. Cole didn't seem affected by it at all but replied.

"I see, you must have been taught good manners. That is good that I have a wife with good manners". At that remark, I spitted all of the food I had in my mouth and glared at Cole who intern looked back at me sweetly.

"Is there something wrong with the food?"

"No there is nothing wrong with the food", Misao started off slowly, while still glaring at him," I'm just curious to whom your calling your wife, since it couldn't be me by any chance."

"Oh but why yes it is, you'll come to love it here Misao so don't worry".

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you Cole, but I shall not be the wife of a fucking monster", Misao said slowly, while all the while still glaring at him. He just simply started back at her and had that same creepy little sweet smile that Misao just wanted to punch right off his face.

"My my, now were did you get a mouth like that? Oh well you just must be homesick is all. But don't worry, once were married you can visit them as many times as you like."

"No don't think you get it Cole, were not getting married at all. I don't know what crazy part of your mind keeps saying that, but you can stick it all up your ass."

"My my my, and here I thought we were going to have a good meal oh well. Say what you my dear, but you can not run away from the inevitable my dear."

"The only _inevitable_ I see here is that Aoshi is going to come here and kick your ass!"

"Didn't one of my people give you the rules around here. Cause if I recall them, I could have sworn one of them was to not say _his_ name".

"Who's name," She asked stupidly, just to get him more mad. And it was currently working as Cole now slowly got up from his seat and said slowly….

"You know whose name I'm talking about…"

"Oh if your recalling to my lover's name, then yes then I know who your talking about", She sweetly said back, mimicking him. He had an angry looking face, but quickly replaced it with his sweet face.

"Oh well, looks as if you get no dinner, I was hoping my bride would be full for the wedding tomorrow morning but oh well". He then nodded to the Pack and Rack, who intern got up and came towards me. They both grabbed one my arms and pulled me towards Cole. He smiled sweetly and said.

"Well sweet dreams to you sweetie." If Misao wasn't held, she would have jumped the guy for calling her a _sweetie_. But before Misao could do anything else, he cupped her face with one his hands as the other went behind her head. He slowly placed his lips on Misao's as Misao tried to struggle, but to no avail. She could see that Raff was looking away, almost disgusted with what his master is doing. Cole then let go and nodded to Rack and Pack who then guild her out of the dinning room, through the hallway.

These two guys didn't really didn't treat her nice (like Raff did) and instead, held her still and dragged her around if she were some rag doll. They approached the stairs by now and were walking up. Misao got bored with the silence and the dragging around and finally said……

"Hey I you can stop dragging me now, I can carry myself up thanks".

"Oh really, we just weren't sure if you could since you made that tantrum back in the dinning room" the shorter guy said, since Misao couldn't remember which name was which since they were twins.

"Well just to let you know….umm….Pack, I wasn't doing a _tantrum_ as you put it. I was only making it clear to Cole of the facts".

They burst out laughing at this and while they still held her, which annoyed her a lot. The tall guy said…..

"First of all…. .if you think you set the rules here, then you're gladly mistaking. Second of all, it _was_ a tantrum. And third of all, I'm Pack and he's Rack."

"Yea well it's not my fault to get you to confused, you guys are twins for crying out loud".

"Whatever".

By now they've reached her room and they, literally, threw her in her room and shut the door. Misao could hear one of them say sarcastically……

"Sweet dreams princess…."

She would have pounced on the guy if she could, but obviously she couldn't since with the whole door shut thing. She was probably guessing they locked the door, but she didn't hear it click. So she got up and went to check as she slowly and softly turned the knob. The door creaked open just a little for Misao to see it was open.

' _Oh yea….'_Misao thought.

But just has Misao opened it a little more, Cole appeared right in front of her door. Misao, obviously surprised, gasped and almost fell back words but caught herself.

'_Oh no……'_

Cole entered slowly as he shut the door behind, all the while his two pair of hazel eyes staring at misao intensely. She noticed he had a creepy smile on his face, and it scared her the least bit as he came closer while she backed away farther.

Sooner or later Misao came impact with the wall and was cornered there by Cole as he said, in his sweet voice….

"Misao my dear, just were did you think you were going?"

"I…just wanted to have a walk," She lied.

"Did I say you could have a walk?"

"_Did I_ ever say you could boss me around?"

It was all too quick for her as a slap hit her right at her right cheek. It appeared Cole didn't find her sarcasm funny. And it just dawned on Misao that he didn't have that creepy on his face like before, but instead he had the face when she first saw him way back in Tokyo. He looked remotely scary as this was the face she saw when he raped her. He cupped her face with his hand as she tried to look away. Cole harshly whispered out….

"Let me tell you this Misao, if you think you will act like this for the remainder here…….you are mistaken. You will follow my rules according to what I say and if you don't follow them, then you will be punished…just like back at Tokyo. Now, do I make myself clear?"

Misao had to gulp for a moment to answer his question as she knew what those _punishments _would be, as she had suffered threw it one time already. While she waited, he licked her cheek roughly as though to tell her to hurry up with her answer. But she wasn't going to give up that easily; She was a Makimach, and Makimachi's don't give up that easily.

'_He may have stole my virginity'_ Misao thought,_' But he will never steal away my dignity! I will hold my dignity…..till death!'_

Misao looked up at Cole with now fire in her eyes and replied coolly…..

"Yes Cole, I do understand completely. Aoshi will come here, and kick your ass is what you're saying.."

Of course Misao was expecting the slap that came to her, though it was the left cheek this time. But what she wasn't expecting was Cole throwing her on the bed and he straddling her on it. She was scared true, but she was going to hold her dignity, her name. So she successfully got her knee out and kicked him right in the shin. He hissed silently as she took the opportunity to push him off of her, as he did fall to the floor. She quickly got up to run for it but couldn't as she felt a pain at the back of her neck. Her vision then blurred on to darkness as she heard a voice say one more thing before conscious lost her…

"Sweet dreams my dear…"

Yea well that was chapter 10. I purposely left Aoshi's pov. Out of this cause of course there all still sleeping and….well….it really wouldn't be an interesting chapter with them all sleeping. So I made it all with Misao and I wanted this episode show the readers Cole's two sides of him. One of his sides is that sweet face, which I know annoys the heck out of you he he he (smiles evilly). And also his other side, when he was in Misao's room. I made so he would pretend he was a kind person when people were around, but he's really a scary person when no one's around. I also made Misao stronger than what people might think she would be in this chapter. She of course is ninja and a determined one at that, so I made her strong as she is on TV. But anyways I think I'm almost done with this story which is sad (frown) but o well, just keep on reviewing and find out what happens next!


	11. Chapter 11

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre…………………………sadly I do not own Rurouni kenshin

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Misao's pov.

Thing only thing she could feel or comprehend at the moment, was the pounding and pain in her head. It appeared Cole knocked her out again; he really needs to find a new tactic or something….cause she was tired of getting knocked out. She slowly opened her eyelids as they felt like bricks. She again must of not have been out long since it was still dark out, but the moon was far off to the other side so it must be early morning or something. She slowly rubbed her eyelids to get all of the sleepy dust out of them, as stared up at the ceiling. She sat up slowly and observed how wonderful it looked outside as the moon beamed over everywhere, including a lake that was not to far off from her window.

As she could see, there were no life forms at all there since it was late in December. She could recall memories way back to when she was just a child, a time when she had no problems in her life and was innocent. She could remember that her and Hanyaa would always sit at a certain lake and would talk for hours about it. She would ask Hanyaa questions about if there were really monsters down there or if mermaids exist. But that's not all the memories she remembered, not at all. She could remember how Hanyaa also taught her how to swim, which she did not learn well.

She wondered though what Aoshi was doing now, if he was even thinking of her now. She was hoping he would get her out of here soon, since she was sick of this place already.

"Aoshi..", Misao said to herself.

Yea, she would have gotten smacked for saying that again. She really didn't see the point in the 'don't say his name' thing, to her it was pretty stupid……it was probably used for her to forget about Aoshi. Yea like that's ever going to happen , she would never forget about him…never. Whether Cole beat it out of her or killed her, she still wouldn't regret it nor forget him.

But the more she looked outside of the window, the more she got bored. There was completely nothing to do here except rot away in this room, or fantasize about Aoshi. Even if her second choice was fun, all fun things get boring after a while. So she paced around the room, thinking on how to entertain herself since it was probably four o'clock in the morning…..she guessed. She looked to the door and she probably knew it was locked, since Cole caught her opening her door last time. But just with the heck of it, she decided to check to see if it was locked. She walked over there, trying not to make any noises, as she carefully grabbed the doorknob with her hand. She turned the knob just a little and was surprised to see that it was actually open.

'_Wow', _Misao thought,_ 'these people just don't learn do they, it's either that or their just plain dumb.'_

She carefully opened the door, though little squeaks were heard, and opened it just enough for her body to enter threw; which didn't take enough to open for her size. When she finally got threw her door and was now in the hallway, she silently closed her door, along with the squeaks, and she stopped to think were to go.

'_Hmm, well, I am pretty hungry considering that I didn't get to eat much at dinner thanks to Cole so I could always go to the kitchen. But one problem, I don't have the slightest clue where the hell it is. So the kitchen idea is out, besides I'll probably be spotted by maids or something. So…hmm…, where else could I go? Maybe I could see Raff, though it might be a little too early. But he's a body guard right, so he should be up at this time. So that's it then, off to Raff's room.'_

So she went off to Raff's room, which she knew where _at least_ that room was since she saw him going in it before. And lucky for her, the dinning room was right next to it (Which meant the kitchen was next to it too) so he could possibly get food for her. Just the thought of food made her stomach grumble, and loudly too. She continued walking, while making sure there were no guards around the area as she hid in the shadows. She now approached the stairs were there were guards at the front doors. She had to think hard now, if she didn't do this right…..then she was dead meat…literally. They would obviously see her if she came down the stairs, so she had to avoid going down the stairs. But she saw to her left that the dark wall there had a big drape on it that went all the way down.

'_Man is it me, or does it look like they actually made an escape route for the victim here?"_

So she carefully jumped on the railing, while still hiding in the shadows, and she grabbed hold of the drape as she slid down silently. The guards apparently didn't see her as they still stood there on the look. She could actually hear some of there conversations, but couldn't make out the faces since they were too far away.

"Yea, I got lucky last night though with some hot chick, and boy was she hot."

"Really, I only got a hold on some cute girl down the street. She put up a good fight, but really wasn't that good as my other one's."

Misao rolled her eyes at their stupidity and noticed that Pack and Rack were there as well, talking with the others.

"Well, it so happens that me and Pack went to a club and got ourselves some firecrackers there", Rack slyly, as he licked his lips," And you wouldn't wanna know were these hands have been."

She could have sworn her eye twitched when he said about the firecracker thing. But when he said about his hands, then she knew her eye twitched as she could feel it twitch. And it was a twitch in anger since those _hands_ touched her on her arms when they carried her. She didn't even want to think of were those_ hands_ have been.

'_That's it from this day on, I will never stop washing my hands', _she declared in her head as she continued on as she left the guards to their perverted conversations. She was now down the hallway that reached the dinning room and knew that Raff's room was on her right, which was directionally across from the dinning room. When she stood in front of his door, she couldn't help but wanting to go in the dinning room as her stomach was aching to…..literally. But she was soon pulled out of her thoughts when she heard……

"Misao", a deep voice said behind her.

She was surprised and whirled around to meet a hard chest, which had two surprised brown eyes above.

"Raff, do you always have to act so suspicious", Misao said breathlessly as she just had a heart attack from him.

"Well I'm sorry, it's just that I didn't expect to see nor sense anyone at four o'clock in the morning", Raff replied, with his same deep voice.

"Oh, so it is four. Wow I'm pretty good." He raised an eyebrow in question since he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Oh never mind."

That's when she actually took notice of what he was wearing, or half wearing anyways. He had a pair of what look like black pants, but were too soft to be out day pants. And that was pretty much it since he wasn't wearing a shirt and that goes with the 'half wearing' thing. She guessed that was all he wore…. since she couldn't tell if he was wearing underwear or not, which she hoped he was.

"Nice ah, ah…."

"There jogging pants", Raff answered calmly," There from the western world".

"Well, that's no surprise……practically everything here is western for crying out loud". When she said that, she could have sworn she saw him smile, must be her eyes playing tricks on her since it's so late.

"Well we could chat out here if we wanted, but since I'm guessing your not allowed to be out her….it's best if we head in my room….wouldn't you agree".

"Totally"

With that said, she followed him to his room which wasn't really that big as her's was……but was still nice. It had all the same designs that her room had, the drapes, the colors, the bed, everything. The only thing different was again the size of it, but it seemed he didn't care all that much which was like Aoshi since he always was a big fan of small rooms. But what she did notice on the wall was two big whips.

'_Probably his, no doubt.'_

She saw him sit on the bed and followed as well, as she sat on the right side of him. The moon shined perfectly on his face as he closed his eyes, as if he was trying to remember something. Seeing the moon, shining so perfectly, on his face made him look gentler, instead of that rough interior look on his face. This made her think that this man also had traits like Aoshi, since he looked that way also. A chilly wind blew form the window as Misao froze and chattered her teeth, since she was only wearing the dress that a maid put on her.

"Cold", came the reply from Raff. It seemed that one breath from his lips could warm her up so easily, which she liked since she was cold.

"Kind of, since I only have this raggy thing on", Misao said, with her teeth still chattering. Raff nodded and then got up, he went to his desk and pulled out which looked like a big black shirt. He came over and handed it to her as he sat back down on the bed saying….

"Here, put this on. It's called a sweatshirt, it's from the _western world,_ which you weren't surprised to hear".

"You can say that again". Misao put it on, which was huge (since it was his probably) and it came down to her knees. It most definitely warmed her up, she said softly…..

"Thank you".

"Again, no 'thank you's' are necessary. Being considerate is what you're supposed to be, not something to be rewarded for."

They both then sat in silence, but it wasn't a bad silence….it was actually a relaxing silence that both enjoyed. But Misao being Misao, was getting bored and said……

"I wanted to ask you something".

"Direct is best"

"Well, how connected to Cole are you. I mean, are you just his working buddy or something else……since you call him lord and all."

"Me and Lord Cole, were once friends when we were little."

"What!"

"Yes, so were Pack and Rack as well, though those weren't there real names but there nicknames. When we were all but children we used to play all the time at Lord Coles house, which is here. We would spend hours at the pond, and try to see who could throw a rock in it the farthest.

"But when his father died ,when he was only eighteen, he was then parent-less. His mother died way back from a disease, which Lord Cole was then nine at the time. But when he was parent-less, that's when the trouble started. He started to care only about money then, nothing else mattered to him from then on. Of course for us, we were all poor boys from the start and did not have any parents. We all thought that he would accept us in his house since we were like family, but we were wrong. He told us that if we wanted to keep our stay here we had to work to earn it, and that's when I noticed something was wrong."

"So you mean to tell me he's just practically using you guys, as if you all never existed in his life."

"That's right, he practically erased us from his memories and treated us as if he never saw us before….as if we were just rats. And he still does, to this day."

"But we got used to it though later on, we worked hard and kept our stay as promised. I watched as my ex-best friend would bring girls here for his own pleasure, and would then dump them out on their own by morning. Every single day I would see his face, though all I would see would be a mask. A false mask pretending as though it is something when it's not. All I ever saw in him then was a monster, and I still do till this day."

He sat there with his head down, since that was hard for him to relive his past. She carefully put a hand on his bare shoulder, and patted it to help him. He didn't move at first, but then she saw his shoulders shaking slightly.

'_No he couldn't be….', _Misao thought,_ 'Is he……crying?'_

She leaned closer and she could definitely see lines of water down his face, which only meant tears….which only meant crying.

"Oh there, there, come here", Misao said softly as she hugged him. He started slow at first, but then crushed her as he hugged her back; as he dug his head in between her shoulder and neck. His once quiet tears were now hoarse, as they still held each other. For Misao she was completely surprised, for a man so huge and tough looking….she never expected him to be so open; so gentle. Surely when she first saw him, she didn't expect this guy to be like this.

'_That just proves you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.'_

"It's okay Raff, I'm here, and if you want, I'll stay with you here".

His sobs softened a little, but he didn't say anything. She slowly moved back towards the pillow side of the bed, as she held Raff's head and laid it on her stomach….the rest of his body followed as well. He curled up at Misao's left side as his head was still on her stomach. She sighed as she felt his sobs disappear and was placed by soft breathing. She looked at him and noticed he looked so much gentler when he was sleeping, he actually looked like a little boy. She played with his hair a bit, but then she stopped and said softly…..

"Goodnight Raff…"

Her response was only a mumble that was too incoherent for her to know. She kissed the top of his head and found herself slowly slipping to sleep-ville as well. She looked up at the ceiling as her eyes slowly closed, never to be opened again for the night. The two slept peacefully , unaware of tomorrow's, or should it be, today's early morning visitors. What will become of not only Misao, but also Raff…….

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Well, that was chapter 11 and whew…that took awhile. As you can see, I wanted Misao and Raff to have a real close relationship. And don't worry, I don't mean the lovey-dovey relationship, I mean the best friend/brotherly type thing. Also want them to be close for a certain reason, but won't say it now since it will spoil some parts of the ending. But thank you all who are reviewing, I so gladly appreciate it and keep on reviewing as were winding down to the final chappies! Tear….so sad that it's almost ova… but oh well. C you till the next chappie then!


	12. Chapter 12

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre…………………………sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

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Back at the Aoyia…..

All the Oniwabanshu ninja'swere awake as they all are now sitting at the table for breakfast; as it is currently four o'clock. The table had seven chairs to it, three on each side and one in front. Okon, Omasu, and Okina sat on the left side of the table, and Shiro, Kuro, and Aoshi sat on the right side. Of course there was no one sitting in the chair in front cause that's were the Okashira sits. The table was of course quiet, besides the munching of food in their mouths, since there wasn't a certain weasel girl around to cheer things up. So they all ate quietly as they would sometimes glance over at the empty chair, wishing or hoping that Misao would appear any minute and would chat away with them. Aoshi being aoshi didn't touch, not even eat, any of his food yet; but kept his head down sothat his bangs were covering his ice blue eyes that were now lonely. But the silence was disturbed as a voice came in……

"I wish Misao was here…" Kuro said sadly as the others nodded as well, "She tells funny jokes."

"Yes Kuro we know", Okon said sweetly," But we mustn't keep ourselves down because of it, we must keep our strength so we can get her back."

"I know," Kuro said dumbly as he placed more rice in his mouth.

"Yea, it seems as though the whole place is different without Misao around", Shiro added," It also feels different here, it feels so dull without her weasel self."

"Yea I know what you mean", Okina said, then had his famous mischief smile on," Like remember the time we locked her in the bath house after I took a dump."

"Oh god not again", Okon said softly as she bowed her head down," Please Okina, were eating."

"Yea Okina, and when you say 'we', you mean YOU!" Omasu said loudly.

Aoshi raised his head a little as he was curious what this story was about, since he never heard it nor saw it happen.

"Oh I remember it quite well actually", Okina started as Okon mimicked him as she mouth-lipped his exact words.

"It was one of those summer days as Misao was only nine at the time. She had been causing nothing but trouble all day, and I decided to get her back for what she did to…..um…me".

"You mean that stupid pink ribbon that she ripped up," Omasu interrupted.

"ANYWAYS…… I had to take a huge dump since I didn't take anyat all that day, which is odd since I always take one in the morni-"

"JUST GET TO THE PIONT OKINA!" Okon and Omasu yelled at him.

"Alright, alright, sheesh woman, so I took a dump and god did it smell bad ,and Misao happened to be skipping in my way. So I called for her and told her that in the bathhouse, Aoshi was in there. You had to see her face when I said that, she then zoomed in the bathhouse as I shut the door quickly. I could hear scream as she knew she was tricked and kicked and pounded at the door, while complaining how bad it smelt in there. I kept her in there for awhile, that is until you two had to ruin the moment and open the door".

Shiro and Kuro were cracking up at the whole thing, as Okon and Omasu didn't find the whole thing funny one bit and sent death glares to Okina. Aoshi didn't glare nor laugh, but still kept his head down. He could just imagine Misao's face when she got locked in there. He let a smile play on his face since no one would be able to tell, since his head was so low.

"Ahem, anywho, it is best if we start packing and head out now", Okina started," If we were to leave now, we should get there at around six or so….which is the perfect time to strike."

So they cleared up all there plates and breakfast, though Aoshi's plate looked as though he didn't even touch it. They all already had their uniforms on so they were all set, as they gathered their weapons and headed out for their journey.

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Two hours later……

They were still traveling through the woods, as Shiro and Kuro sang softly 'ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall'; Aoshi was in the back of the group.

"Okina…" Omasu wined," Didn't you say this would only take about two hours"?

"Yes I did, but don't worry, we should be there soon".

"That's what you said twenty minutes ago", Okon now wailed.

"Now, now, there's no reason to panic. When Okina's in control, nothing goes wrong".

"Dear lord, I should of seen this coming", Okon still wailed," Cause when Okina's in control, _everything_ goes wrong_."_

"I agree", Omasu agreed.

"Yea and will you two dimwits stop singing that stupid song already", Okon said aggravated," Were trying to _sneak up_ on the enemy, not _attract_ the enemy".

"Your just jealous cause you don't have our singing talent," Shiro coolly replied and kept going on with the song; which was now at eighty-two.

"Hmm, the day when you two have singingtalent, is the day when Okina actually gets a woman in his lifetime".

"What was that Okon?" Okina asked.

"Oh nothing that concerns you, 'Mr. Oh-So-Righty-Pants'.

So they continued on as they climbed over some hills, but nothing to dangerous as they spotted a big huge hill ,with rocks on the bottom.

"Ha, I bet if we cross over this hill, the house she be just right next to it!" Okina declared.

"No, you think", Okon whispered sarcastically.

So they all climbed up the several rocks with no problems, or _almost_ with no problems……

"OUCH!"

"What!" All the others replied, except Aoshi of course.

"I think I broke a nail", Omasu replied dramatically, as the others sweat dropped, besides Aoshi, and fell anime style. Okina then cleared his throat and made his way up as the others followed, with a sad Omasu. As they made it over the hill, they could definitely see a huge mansion not even hundred feet away.

"Ha I knew it!"

"Whatever"

"Alright everybody," Okina started," I have already sorted out the groups, they are: Aoshi and Shiro, Okon and Omasu, and Kuro and I. Me and Kuro will take the left side of the house, Okon and Omasu will take the right side. As finally, Aoshi and Shiro will take the front of the house. If any of you are in danger, there should be whistles in your pockets, blow them and we'll help out. Good luck".

They all then scattered out as Aoshi and Shiro hid in the shadows, as there were very few guards guarding the entrance. To not cause a scene, Aoshi pointed to Shiro to go to the windows. Shiro nodded and noticed there two guards guarding them. He got the idea. He ran straight, while hiding in the shadows thanks to the tree's, and punched the guy in the back of the neck….knocking him to dreamland quickly. Aoshi was already done with his opponent, as he opened the window for the both of them and they both jumped in silently. Luckily there were no guards in front of the house, but they could tell there were some earlier as they saw food wrappers on the floor. The both of them looked around and saw only a staircase in the middle of the room, and a hallway on the right.

"Alright, I'll take the staircase, you take the hallway, if we don't find anything in about a half an hour, we'll meet up here again, okay," Shiro said. An indication of Aoshi nodding his head was all Shiro needed, as he was off to the staircase and then quickly disappeared from sight. Aoshi walked on, still hiding in the shadows, as we reached the long hallway. As Aoshi walked down, he tried to sense if there were any people in the doors, but didn't detect any. He continued walking the hallway though if it weren't for the torches lighting it up, it would have been completely dark. But that wouldn't have been a problem to Aoshi anyways, since he could see in the dark as good as day. He continued on as he smelt some food coming from his left.

'_Must be the Kitchen or dinning room'_

"AHHHHHH!"

But Aoshi was pulled out of his thoughts as he noticed a waitress was behind him and dropped her tray and screamed. He quickly turned towards her and closed her mouth, as he connected his fist onto the back of her neck. She quickly lost consciousness as she fell softly to the floor. He hid in the shadows for a bit to see if any guards came, but none did thankfully.

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Misao's pov.

She woke up, to the hear of a woman's scream as she saw that it was early morning. She noticed that Cole woke up as well since he too was looking at the door.

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Aoshi's Pov.

Aoshi then was about to continue on, but sensed that someone was inside the door. Slowly, he made his way towards the room as he slowly, without a sound, turned the knob.

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Misao's pov.

She didn't hear anything but saw that the knob was turning as she and Cole waited for the inevitable.

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Aoshi's pov.

He then slowly opened the door, and his eyes then were wide as he couldn't believe what he saw….

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Normal pov.

Misao saw the door open, and saw someone she wasn't expecting to see...

_Aoshi Shinomori……_

Aoshi just stood there not believing his eyes as Misao still laid there with Cole on her stomach, as he was looking at Aoshi to.

Misao and Aoshi stared right into each other as neither of them knew what to say………..

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Well, that's chapter 12, and yes I know that took me awhile to do but I to think of how to lead it to the end, since I know what I want my end to be. But anyways, on with the story, oh yes, I know you all are gonna murder me for making this another cliffhanger, and a big one in fact. Also, I got the whole story Okina was saying cause the same thing happened to my little sister when my dad locked her in thebathroom. He he he, I was indeedenjoying it all. ButJust how is Aoshi gonna react to this? Find out in the next chappie if you wanna know!

And keep on reviewing!


	13. Chapter 13

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre…………………..sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

* * *

Misao's pov.

All she could do was sit there and stare back at the man she loved most, as she could see the hurt in his eyes. It wasn't what he thought what looked like at all. She tried to open her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

'_I thought I'd never say this', _Misao thought,_ 'but I actually wish it was Cole who came in, instead of Aoshi.'_

But the hurt in Aoshi's eyes quickly changed back into their ice blue state as he said…..

"Misao, get up, it's time to go."

"Lord Aoshi….let me explain…", Misao started.

"_Now_ Misao", Aoshi coldly stated, even colder than usual.

Misao started getting up, as Raff got up on his own for Misao. Misao stood up and started walking towards Aoshi, while Raff said to Aoshi….

"I can not let her go that easily"

"Is it a fight you want?" Aoshi answered back.

"Correct, to get Misao, you need to fight me. By Lord Cole's order's, I must defend his upcoming wife with my life."

"If it is a fight you want, than I accept" Aoshi stated calmly.

"Good, but we must fight not here, but in the fighting gym."

Raff then turned around and walked away from Aoshi and Misao, and faced the wall with the two whips. He grabbed both of them, one in each hand, and then walked towards Misao and Aoshi.

"I shall show you the way, please follow." Raff said, in his deep voice.

So they left his room and took a left, with Raff in the front and Misao and aoshi right behind him.

"Alright Lord Aoshi listen," Misao started. Aoshi was just about to interrupt, but Misao glared at him. "What you saw back there was not what it looked like, all I was doing was comforting him."

"Hmm, it looked more than comforting to me", Aoshi replied sharply.

"You're acting like a fourteen year old Lord Aoshi." Misao replied back.

"Really, well it's not everyday when you see the person you love sleeping with another guy, meanwhile he's your enemy. So unless you were seducing him, I don't see any other way to defend yourself."

"You know what, I don't need this right now," Misao finished.

The two of them were then quiet as they now were at the stairs. They all climbed the stairs quietly, the only that could be heard were the sounds of there footsteps. But the silence was broken when…..

"Shinomori, what Misao is saying is true", Raff said, "Her and I did nothing but comfort each other last night, or she comforted me anyways."

Aoshi said nothing and just kept on climbing as they reached the last step. There were then two pathways; one straight ahead and one to the left. Of course Misao knew that the pathway on the left was the way to her room, since she's been there a lot. But Raff instead walked the pathway straight ahead, as Aoshi and followed. There was silence again among the group as they went down another dark hallway.

Misao saw something that looked like cloth from Raff's pocket, so she asked…

"Raff"

"Yes Misao?"

"What's that cloth in your pocket?"

Raff looked and took out the cloth from his pocket. It was just a plain blue piece of cloth, but the look on Raff's face told it was something more than it.

"It was something my mother gave me, since we were poor and didn't have anything" Raff started," She died when I was about five, but I would remember how she would tell me things. Like when it snowed; my mother said that when it snowed, your true love would be there. My mother would always say funny things like that."

"Raff," Misao started," Why are you doing this, I know you were a great friend to Cole, but since he's now changed…why do still stay with him."

"Because….he is my friend, whether he's evil or not," Raff answered back.

"Well, since he's changed, shouldn't you?"

Raff didn't answer this question, but kept his head down as if he was thinking it over in his head. Misao knew she struck a nerve in him. But she just doesn't want not only him hurt, but Aoshi as well. But since they'll be fighting each other shortly, they will get hurt either way. She just wished that Raff could just open up from his shell and move on, so he's not judge by who he works for.

But then Raff then suddenly stopped and turned left, just in front of two big golden doors. He pushed them open with no problem, and a burst of light hit their eyes as they entered. They had to squint their eyes for awhile to get used to the light, but that didn't take long. But the gym was big, no, huge as the wall's were in gold, with gold torches on them with fire in them. It was basically a huge empty room in there as they walked in.

"Hello…", Misao yelled. Then echoes were heard around the room as Misao smiled at it. She looked over at Raff and Aoshi who were looking at her, as if she were stupid or something.

"Sorry, I always wanted to do that," Misao said weakly. Raff had a little smirk on his face, but it was erased quickly as they all stood in the middle of the gym.

"Now we shall fight, this is where all the battles have been taking place", Raff announced," Though we haven't had any visitors in awhile, this will be a good brush up for not only I, but for my other comrades as well."

"Misao, stay back", Aoshi told her. Misao backed up to Aoshi's left, so she could see the fight better. Misao knew she could do nothing at this moment, but watch as two people she cared about were about to battle. She was now about ten feet away from them, but still nowhere near the doors as this was a huge gym.

"For this fight, I will use these whips as you see", Raff said.

"Very well, I will fight you with these," Aoshi said, as he pulled out his two kodachi's. As Misao was watching this, she actually wanted to laugh. She just never got why men were so formal when they battled. If she were in the fight, she would have been stabbing the guy already. She could imagine Aoshi saying to his opponent 'These are my weapons, and now I shall shop off your head'. Just thinking it made her laugh, but now wasn't the time to be laughing.

"Ah, kodachi's, I've never battled against any, this will be interesting," Raff stated.

"Neither have I battled against whips either, that shall be interesting as well."

The both of them got into there fighting stance as they were ready to attack. But just then when they were about to, the giant doors came open, and Pack and Rack came out, along with the other Oniwabanshu ninja's.

"Hey Misao!", Okon and Omasu yelled.

"Oh, Misao, we knew you'd still be alive!", Kuro and Shiro yelled out.

"Oh my pretty Misao, did you miss your sexy grandfather!" Okina yelled out.

"Jiya, out of all the places in the world, did you have to yell it out here….", Misao wailed. God, he was never going to give up was he.

"So Raff I see you got here first, that's no surprise", Pack yelled out to Raff.

"Of course", Raff answered.

But then the door's opened again and Cole appeared and entered the room. He had that creepy smile on his face again, as he stood at the wall behind Raff.

"Welcome, it seems we have visitors here", Cole announced," The most polite thing to do is to greet our guests….with our weapons of course."

"Fine by us!", Shiro and Kuro yelled, as they approached Pack and Rack.

"Fine by us, you say", said Rack," But me and Pack fight together, so it will be better if it was a two on two."

"Just the way we like it", Shiro yelled.

Misao could see that Pack and Rack's weapons didn't look all that tough, they only had what looked like metal claws on their hands and that was it. But Raff though, they looked really challenging.

"Very well", Cole announced, "Let the battles begin!"

Aoshi and Raff then charged at each other at full force. Aoshi formed his kodachi's into a pair of scissors as Raff dodged them, without using his whips. But not for long; right when Raff dodged Aoshi's kodachi's, he slashed his right whip right on Aoshi's right side ribs. Blood splattered from there as Aoshi jumped back away from Raff, and started to regain his breath. Raff however stood there, no indication at all if he was tired. Aoshi then stood up and knew that this was going to be a long battle.

Shiro and Kuro were not doing so well either. They both got slashed a couple of times by Pack and Rack with their metal claws. It seemed there was nowhere to hit on these guys.

"Hey guys, switch!" Okon yelled out. Shiro and Kuro did just that as they slowly backed away as Okon and Omasu stepped up. Pack and Rack looked to each other and laughed.

"What are you two laughing at!" Omasu yelled.

"It's just that, do really expect you two woman to beat us," Pack snickered.

"You'd be surprised what us women can do," Okon said, as she smiled at them since she had a plan in her head form watching Kuro and Shiro fighting. She told Omasu the plan before as well, so both knew what to do.

"Alright then 'Miss hot shot', were not going to go easy on you, let's go," Rack roared.

Pack and Rack started charging at Okon and Omasu. But the way they were charging was the same way they did it to Shiro and Kuro. While charging, they would jump side to side, in front of each other, to make it look like there were multiple of them. But Okon and Omasu were prepared for this, right when Rack came down to slash Okon, she jumped back away. Pack quickly tried to slash her again, but again Okon dodged it. Okon quickly turned and saw that Omasu was now right behind her, with the other twin after her as well.

'_Perfect….', _Okon thought. Now both Oniwabban ninja's were back to back with each other, as the two twins came at full speed to each one. Just as the twins both raised there metal claws to attack, Okon yelled to Omasu…..

"NOW!", and both ducked to the ground. Pack and Rack didn't see this coming and couldn't stop in time. As a result, Pack and Rack slashed each other right across the face of each one. Blood was everywhere on their face as Okon yelled to Omasu….

"Alright, now's our chance!"

Okon quickly got up and bashed her weapon behind Pack's neck, knocking him unconscious. Omasu did the same to Rack as both fell to the ground with their eyes rolled back in their heads, blood all over their faces and ground.

" You see", Okon started, "As I was watching when Shiro and Kuro were fighting, I noticed their speed and how fast they were. True their speed is incredible, and I used _their speed_ to our advantage. But that wasn't what led them to their defeat, it was their cockiness that did it."

Okon looked back at Shiro and Kuro and said, while smirking…..

"You see, that's why you shouldn't let a man do a woman's job".

"Shut up!" Shiro yelled, as he already had bandages applied to his injuries, so did Kuro.

"Ha, and we even left this fight untouched", Omasu snickered with Okon.

"Well done…. you two." Okina quietly said. Okina looked up and could see Cole didn't enjoy this much.

"My comrades……got beaten by two women…" Cole stated threw clenched teeth. But Cole looked to his left and then smiled. "Ah, at least one of my comrades is doing their job."

As Cole said it, Raff was accurately winning the match with only a slash at his shoulder. But Aoshi on the other hand, had many slashes on his body, most on his rib area. Aoshi was panting for breath as he still held a strong grip on his kodachi's.

"You're lucky those slashes aren't deep, if they were you would be dead right now. But whips don't make big slashes though, so you're lucky in this case."

'_He's strong', _Aoshi thought, _'I cant even hit him'._

Okina was watching Aoshi the whole time, and could tell he was in trouble. If he didn't think of something fast, it will be over….and fast.

'_Think Aoshi', _Okina thought, _'If you cant attack him, then there must be something else you can attack…….'_

It was as if Aoshi read Okina's mind, cause his eye's winded and he then got into one of his stances again.

"Are you still going to try that, it wont work, my whips will block it before it can even lay a hair on me." Raff stated.

Aoshi chose not to answer, but instead charged at him and formed his stance for his Kaiten Kenbu, his most ultimate attack. Raff huffed at this, since he tried it not to long ago and set his whips down to attack Aoshi's head. But Aoshi quickly changed his stance to instead formed his kodachi's into their scissor form. Aoshi quickly caught the whips with his kodachi's, and just like scissors, he snapped Raff's whips in half. The ends of the whips fell to the ground silently as Aoshi jumped back. Raff looked completely shocked, he had figured that he would try his ultimate attack again, but was wrong.

'_I see, so you changed your attack right at the last minute. You had me fooled to believe you were going to your ultimate attack, but instead you changed your attack cause you knew where I was going to attack, and took my whips.", _Raff thought out.

"It's over, your now weaponless, there would be no point in fighting anymore now would there", Aoshi stated calmly.

"You are correct, I am weaponless and I have lost a battle which I have used all of me strengths. You are the victor in this battle" Raff stated back calmly, as he bowed to Aoshi. Aoshi nodded and sheathed his kodachi's back in place. Cole however, did not look happy at all.

"What! This cant be happening, all my comrades lost to a bunch of freaks in customs!" Cole yelled out.

"Well theses _freaks in costumes_, are now telling you to surrender," Okina started," All of your comrades have lost in honorable fights, please give Misao to us peacefully and you may not be in jail for a long time."

"Cole." Aoshi stated.

"What?" Cole answered.

"Tell me one thing, why is it you are after Misao. You could not be doing this just for the sake of her in personal, am I correct."

"Oh, so she didn't tell you did she." Cole said amused. He looked at Misao who had surprise written all over her face. The others were looking at her as well, wondering what she was hiding.

"Well, well, well, look what we got here" Cole said, now laughing, "Well, to make things simple, we met at Tokyo not to long ago, and well…..me and her got pretty close".

"Bastard, tell them the truth!", Misao yelled out

Cole smiled at Misao and then cheerfully replied.

"Alright, alright, truth is I basically raped Misao". Right when Cole said that, everyone where sending death glares to him as were just two seconds from braking his neck. Cole saw this and then announced…..

"But that doesn't matter does it, all that matter's is that if I cant have Misao, no one can…"

But before anyone can do anything, Cole pulled out a revolver and pointed it straight at Misao. Misao, to shocked to do anything, stood their with wide eyes as Cole lastly said….

"So long Misao, have fun in the after life!"

The sound of a bullet was heard throughout the gym, as the sound of blood splattering was heard as well…….

* * *

Well, that was chapter 13, and god, I think that was the longest chapter I have ever done so far. But then again, I had to get all of this in. But on with the story, ooooo you guys are gonna kill me for another ending like this aren't you. Well, I'm sorry, but this is my job, to keep you entertained. Does Misao die form the bullet? Find out in the next chappie!

Oh yea, and I want to say that I might not be able to update soon as usual cause of school and all and plus I might get grounded. So, I hope I'll be able to update soon!


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys…..I have great news. IM DONE WITH MY PROJECT! Yea now I can finally work on my stories lol. I bet ur all happy as well. So keep reviewing when my stories come.!


	15. Chapter 15

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre……………………………………sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin

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Misao's pov.

Darkness was all she could see, as Misao had her eyes shut tight, awaiting for her death. And just as expected, the sound of a bullet was heard, as also the sound of blood splattering as well. But the odd thing was…….she felt no pain…..

'_Am I…..dead already,' _Misao thought, _'Boy, I knew getting shot was quick and all, but I never thought it was going to die that fast…..'_

She slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see angels of some sort or a white world or something…..hopefully nothing with fire or devils. But what Misao saw was neither of the two, but instead, she saw that she was still in the gym.

'_Well, I guess I'm not dead after all.'_

But she quickly gasped as she saw a tall, no, huge body in front of her. She identified quickly that it was Raff that took the bullet for her, but sadly for Raff, the bullet hit him right next to his heart….toward his left shoulder. He was kneeling on the floor (Even still bigger than Misao.) from the wound, as he slowly got up. All the others were appalled to what just happened, even Aoshi had the show of surprise on his face…..though not as much as the others.

"Jet!" Cole screamed hysterically, clearly he was not happy with the situation……

"Yes" Raff answered weakly, yet still had some of his deep voice yet.

"What is the meaning of this!" Cole replied back widely, "You are supposed to be serving me, not the enemy! Whoever said you could make the rules here you little piece of trash!"

"Well….this piece of _trash_ you so call it….has a name besides the fake one you gave me,…that name was Raff…"

"Enough with this non-"

"QUIET!" The power of that yell basically threw everybody's heart into heart-attack mode. They all didn't know he could yell that loud, especially when he's hurt….

"You will…listen to me. I put up…with you for…all these long years…and for what? I questioned myself everyday of this,….yet I never…..found my answer."

As Raff was speaking, more blood was coming out of his wound…..making it harder for him to talk. Misao was almost going to make him stop, until she heard him speak again.

"That was until….I met…Misao. She…told me that….you've changed from who….you once where. When she told me…..back when we were approaching the gym…..that since you've changed…..shouldn't I . It was plaguing my thoughts for awhile……and I did decide…that she was…..indeed right.

By now a pool of blood was around Raff's knees as he again fell to the ground, while he was speaking. Misao had tears in her eyes from all the blood, and also for what Raff said she did for him.

"I have wasted…..those years. Those years when…I could have been….doing good…..for the innocent…instead of the likes of you….who has changed so much….from the little boy I once knew. You used….to be….so kind….but now I don't know…..who you are anymore. You are so different……that…you are a mere stranger…..to me"

Raff then made an attempt to try and stand back up, only to be able to stand weakly on his feet with his knees bent forward and back leaning forward as well. Blood was dripping from his chin while speaking furthermore…….

"This is why…..of what I've done……I will give up….my life…to save those…..who are in need of saving…..from the likes of you.."

Everybody just stood there and looked at Raff with wide eyes at his confession. Misao had a tear slid down her cheek, as also the other Oniwaban ninja's as well…..except for Okina and Aoshi of course. But both of their eyes were soft toward Raff. But this moment was disturbed as howling laughter was heard form none other than Cole.

"Ha hah ha hah, you actually think that you can save people Raff. Come now, just one look and they'll be off screaming away just like the others had. You're even more stupid than I thought."

"Cole!" Okina yelled, surprising everyone, "Say what you will about Raff and us, but this battle is over. You have deliberately refused me before, so there by I will make sure you will go to jail for this…..where you belong. You will hand Misao over to us now or we will _forcefully _do it ourselves!"

"Ha hah, that's were your wrong old man!" Cole yelled back, "You see, every business man always has a plan B if something is to go wrong."

Cole pulled out a rectangular object with his left hand (while still holding the gun in his right hand). The object had basically only one button, which was a huge red button. Cole then yelled out….

"Ha hah ha, you see here, this is my little friend here. You see, when I push this nice little red button….this whole building will start to collapse and turned to dust. It's like I said before, if I can't have Misao, no one can….hah ha hah ha hah!"

Cole pressed the red button as he dropped the object to the floor. The building then began to shake abruptly as the others fell on their backs for not anticipating it. Raff was still hunched over since he was expecting this, however he didn't last long on his feet as he then saw Cole making it towards the doors.

"Oh no you don't!" Raff yelled out to Cole, as he successfully ran towards Cole as fast as he could. He pulled Cole back by his shirt as he lifted him up in the air. Cole all the while was looking frantic at Raff, pleading…..

"Please…..please, oh my friend how I adore you so, please don't kill me…!" Cole pleaded. Rocks started coming down as the room began to shake even more.

"Friend you say…….when you're begging for your life…."

Raff reached out at Cole's hand and took the gun andpointed it at Cole with his left hand, while his right hand still held him up.

"Raff! What are you doing!"

"I'm doing you favor"

Raff then pulled the trigger and blood squirted all over the place behind Cole's head, as Raff dropped Cole to the floor…….whom had their eyes rolled back into hishead.

Cole takshi was dead.

The others all the while were looking the whole time, all the while trying to run towards the gym doors to get our of here. Raff just stood there and looked at them; his eyes were blank looking….as if nothing was in there.

"Okina!" Omasu yelled out, "What about Pack and Rack?"

"Leave them!" Raff yelled out.

The others turned to see Raff now walking towards the bodies of his friends as he stood over them. He then turned his head towards the rest and said softly to them…….

"Leave them, there dead, where they belong…and so do I….."

Before anyone could say or do anything, Raff raised the gun toward his heart and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered from behind him, as blood was all over his chest and back. He fell to his knees and his eyes rolled back in his head to stay there before saying his final words….

"The…wound….I…have now,…is nothing…compared…to the pain….my heart's been….for the past….eight years….of…."

He said no more, and will not forever. He laid there with his two other friends, as a pile of rocks buried them.

"RAFF!" Misao screamed. She was about to go after him, but Aoshi pulled her back and dragged her out while saying……

"Come on! He's gone Misao, we can't stay here. It's about to collapse! Don't worry the others are waiting outside for us already!"

So the two of them raced threw the mansion as they raced threw the dark hallway. Rocks came down hard at them, but that ignored it and kept on going as dust was everywhere. The two finally made it towards the stairs, except, there were no stairs. Instead, there were only the two first stair steps and then the rest must havecrashed towards the bottom. Aoshi thought they were stuck, until he saw Misao sliding down the drape that was on the wall. Aoshi followed Misao down and met her at the end. He then continued to lead the way out of the mansion, but just when Aoshi got towards the doors, a burst of fire exploded from behind him as he was thrown forward veraciously and thrown to the ground. Aoshi pulled himself of the ground as he looked back at the house, which was now covered in flames. He put a relaxed face on as he turned around and said…..

"Are you alright Misa-"

He stopped short when he noticed that she wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere near him at all. All the other Oniwaban ninja's were out their, who had confused faces as well.

'_No…', _Aoshi thought, _'She isn't…no..please….'_

"MISAOOO!" Aoshi yelled.

He continued to yell into the open sky of dawn as the once beautiful mansion, was now a burial grave….and not just one grave either……..

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Well, that was chapter 15. Yes I know this one took a long time. But if you didn't know, I had a project so that delayed it. Also because I'm tired and lazy so deal with it…..nah jk lol. Well……….sniff….sadly there is one more chapter left…and that's the next chapter. The next chapter is the last chapter. It's so sad…..but all good things must come to an end. But in the final chapter, you'll actually see why it's called Forgotten December. If you don't still get it, then your stupid….agian jk lol. But stay tune for the final chapter!


	16. Chapter 16The Ending

Forgotten, December

By: Kelli St. Pierre…………..sadly I do not own Rurouni Kenshin…..and sadly this is my last chapt.!

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Aoshi's pov.

He stood there, not caring of the time or day. He have stood there for what seemed like days, but was only hours. It has only been a day since of Misao's death, and he had been standing there since early morning as it was early afternoon now. He had no reason why he was here, after all, Misao was dead and there was nothing he could do, nothing what so ever.

So he stood there.

He stood towards the remains of not only the house, but of his love as well.

He had been thinking of hopes of Misao coming back, if she did make it threw the fire that she would be here _for him. _But such ideals were impossible he found, and now all he is thinking of is how he should commit his suicide. He has nothing else in his life, so why shouldn't he. After all, a man who never forgets at all, did so for his whole life. He forgot and ran away from his salvation his whole, and by the time he found his salvation, he was too late.

But now he will always remember this month for always, whether he kills himself or not. He will always remember that the one thing he forgotten was now his unforgotten. You could say his forgotten appeared in his life in December, which would call her his forgotten December. It's Funny how he now thinks of nicknames for her, as she had done for all of the years when she was younger. When times like those were simpler, when _she_ was so simple.

'_I must not relive in the past,' _Aoshi thought to himself, _'As I have nothing left in this world. I have lost my four loyal comrades and thought it was over, not until she showed me. Though she ran away before I could have a chance to apologize_

'_But she came back, she came back to the man who deliberately told her to go away and never show her again. It was the day I received the present that I have finally found out my salvation. I have run away from her for so long. And now it is too late.'_

He slouched over, as if he was defeated. But he was wasn't he? He was conquered by the reality of the world, which swallowed him up without him even realizing it. The rays of sunlight coming from his right awoke him from his thoughts. He looked over at the sunset desperately, as his answer would appear there, if _she_ appeared there.

He then looked back at the remains of the once beautiful mansion, which was now as though a dump. He had come to a decision that he would finally kill himself, as he had nothing left. He would kill himself, whether or not he went to hell or heaven. Cause to him, the real hell was the world and all of its painful reality. He truly was a coward, a coward to not go on and instead waste his life. He was sure if _she_ were in the same position as he was, she would definitely move on. It was all because she was string, it was that simple; she was strong and he was weak. She could easily break him if she wanted, though she probably didn't even know of the power she had.

He decided to head back now, since these thoughts were already too much for him to handle. As he was turning back to go, he noticed something. Something that wouldn't be special if some random person saw it, or special as a piece of gold. But to him it was, he walked over to it, and knelt down and picked up what was a letter. He recognized it from somewhere, but didn't know where. The letter wasn't what really was special to him, what was special to him was that it had _his_ name on it with _her_ handwriting.

He opened it up and finally realized where he saw this before. It was the same letter he got from Misao when she gave him the yukata she bought. It still said the same thing inside it as he began to read in his head what it said…..

_This is a reminder to you that you'll always have someone to come to when you're down. All you need to do is look over your shoulder…...and I'll be there…._

_Love, Misao_

He stood there, with the letter in hand as he replayed the words she wrote in his head. The paper slipped out of his hands, but made no attempt to get it, as he was still facing the remains of the mansion. But he then suddenly, very slowly, turned his head around to look over his shoulders.

He saw…….

* * *

Back at the Aoyia….

Everyone back here was already making the funeral ready for Misao. They haven't said much to one another since the incident, and they've all kept frowns on their faces they chose not to smile…..or maybe couldn't smile. All of them were outside for a particular reason.

It was snowing.

Today was the first day of snow this winter finally. All of the town's people came outside and all smiled and laughed, as the kids started running threw the snow. All of the Oniwabban ninja's also had smiles on their faces for the first time since yesterday, as Okina thought to himself….

'_I sense……love…coming from the sky. If I didn't know any better, I would say Misao is doing this for us….'_

But all the other ninja's didn't sense this and instead started throwing snowballs, or piles of snow, at each other while they were talking to each other. Okina couldn't hear all they were saying, but heard Shiro say "They say that the first day of snow brings your true love to you".

Okina smiled at them as he could feel that something was merry was happening somewhere……

* * *

Back to where Aoshi was…..

He saw….

For once in his life, Aoshi Shinomori smiled for the fist time……

The End

* * *

Well, sadly that's the end of this story….(frowns). I know you all will be killing me for an ending like this, but I did this so that the readers can use their imagination for their own endings, instead of me spoiling it. Trust me, if I was in your shoes, I would be furious as well……(evil smile). But yes, this is the end, and I think I could of done a better job with the whole story in general, since this my first story I did, I think I did an okay job. If you get the meaning of the end and the story, then your smart, if you don't, then your stupid……nah jk jk jk…lol. If you have any questions with the story, since this is over now, ask me and I'll be more than happy to answer them. I hope you all enjoyed this story, and (psst) I may be doing another Angst/romance story like this (psst)…but you didn't hear that from me. And finally I want to thank ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE REVIEWED FOR THIS STORY! Sorry, I think I got a little too excited…..but hell that's okay..:).. 


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